Palestinian group Islamic Jihad has said one of its commanders was killed in an Israeli air raid on his home in the besieged Gaza Strip, as armed groups responded by firing rockets towards Israel.
Islamic Jihad’s armed wing announced the killing of Bahaa Abu al-Ata in a statement on Tuesday after Israel confirmed it had targeted the 42-year-old commander.
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Separately, the Palestinian group said that Israel also attacked the home of one of its political leaders in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Gaza air raid
Islamic Jihad said Abu al-Ata’s wife was also killed in the blast that ripped through the building in Gaza City’s Shejaiya district before dawn. At least two others were wounded, according to medics.
The group said Abu al-Ata was killed during “a heroic action”, without elaborating, and promised to take revenge.
“Our inevitable retaliation will rock the Zionist entity,” it said, referring to Israel.
Hamas, the Palestinian group that administers the Gaza Strip, said Israel “bears full responsibility for all consequences of this escalation” and promised that Abu al-Ata’s death “will not go unpunished”.
The Israeli military said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorised the operation against Abu al-Ata, blaming him for recent rocket, drone and sniper attacks against Israel, and attempted infiltrations into the country.
“Abu al-Ata was responsible for most of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s activity in the Gaza Strip and was a ticking bomb,” it said, accusing al-Ata of planning “imminent terror attacks through various means”.
Global News 
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